Matthew 10–15

The Twelve Apostles

10^uAnd he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. ^2vThe names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, ^wwho is called Peter, and ^xAndrew his brother; ^xJames the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and ^yMatthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;^{1 4}Simon the Zealot,² and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

^5uThese twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of ^zthe Samaritans, ^6abut go rather to ^bthe lost sheep of ^cthe house of Israel. ⁷And proclaim as you go, saying, ^d‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’^{3 8e}Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,⁴ cast out demons. ^fYou received without paying; give without pay. ^9gAcquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics⁵ or sandals or a staff, for ^hthe laborer deserves his food. ¹¹And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. ¹²As you enter the house, ⁱgreet it. ¹³And if the house is ^jworthy, let ⁱyour peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let ⁱyour peace return to you. ¹⁴And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, ^lshake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly, I say to you, ^mit will be more bearable on the day of judgment for ⁿthe land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.

Persecution Will Come

^16o“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be ^pwise as serpents and ^qinnocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of men, for ^rthey will deliver you over to courts and flog you ^sin their synagogues, ^18rand you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, ^tto bear witness before them and the Gentiles. ^19rWhen ^uthey deliver you over, ^vdo not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for ^wwhat you are to say will be given to you in that hour. ^20xFor it is not you who speak, but ^ythe Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ^21zBrother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, ^22aand you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. ^bBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they ^cpersecute you in one town, ^dflee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel ^ebefore the Son of Man comes.

^24f“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant⁶ above his master. ²⁵It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. ^gIf they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign⁷ those of his household.

Have No Fear

²⁶“So have no fear of them, ⁱfor nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on ^jthe housetops. ²⁸And ^kdo not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him ^lwho can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{8 29}Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?⁹ And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰But ^meven the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹Fear not, therefore; ⁿyou are of more value than many sparrows. ^32oSo everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³but ^pwhoever denies me before men, ^qI also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

^34r“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. ^sI have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ^35rFor I have come ^tto set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ^36uAnd a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. ^37vWhoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸And ^wwhoever does not take his cross and ^xfollow me is not worthy of me. ^39yWhoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Rewards

^40z“Whoever receives you receives me, and ^awhoever receives me receives him who sent me. ^41bThe one who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴²And ^cwhoever gives one of ^dthese little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

Messengers from John the Baptist

11When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

^2eNow when John heard ^fin prison about the deeds of ^gthe Christ, he sent word by ^hhis disciples ³and said to him, “Are you ⁱthe one who is to come, or shall we ^jlook for another?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: ^5kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers¹ are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and ^lthe poor have good news preached to them. ⁶And blessed is the one who ^mis not offended by me.”

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ⁿinto the wilderness to see? ^oA reed shaken by the wind? ⁸What then did you go out to see? A man² dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹What then did you go out to see? ^pA prophet?³ Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰This is he of whom it is written,

^q“ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ^12rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,⁴ and the violent take it by force. ^13rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, ¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. ^15tHe who has ears to hear,⁵ let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

¹⁷“ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

¹⁸For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”⁶

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

^20zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ^21a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in ^bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ^22cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on ^dthe day of judgment for ^bTyre and Sidon than for you. ²³And you, ^eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to ^fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. ^24cBut I tell you that ^git will be more tolerable on ^dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

^25hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, ⁱLord of heaven and earth, that ^jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and ^krevealed them to little children; ²⁶yes, Father, for such was your ^lgracious will.^{7 27m}All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son ⁿexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone ^oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ^28pCome to ^qme, all who labor and are ^rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and ^slearn from me, for I am ^tgentle and lowly in heart, and ^uyou will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For ^vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath

12At that time ^wJesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and ^xthey began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, ^y“Look, your disciples are doing ^zwhat is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.” ³He said to them, ^a“Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered the house of God and ate ^bthe bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read ^cin the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶I tell you, ^dsomething greater than the temple is here. ⁷And if you had known ^ewhat this means, ^f‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For ^gthe Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

A Man with a Withered Hand

⁹He went on from there and ^hentered their synagogue. ¹⁰And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, ⁱ“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—^jso that they might accuse him. ¹¹He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, ^kif it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12lOf how much more value is a man than a sheep! So ^mit is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” ¹³Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And ⁿthe man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

God’s Chosen Servant

¹⁵Jesus, aware of this, ^owithdrew from there. And ^pmany followed him, and he healed them all ¹⁶and ^q…